Question Formation Feel free to explore these on your own. If you have any questions, let’s hear them. TASK 1 Various parts of sentences 1 – 4 below are underlined. Write questions in which you ask about the underlined parts. Keep the structure of the original sentence (including tenses and all semantically important words), the only task is to transform it to a question. Example: He is going to write the final part of the thesis next month. Which part of the thesis is he going to write next month? 1. The cells continued to die in the Petri dishes. 2. Genetic engineering draws our attention to serious ethical issues. 3. Protein modeling has been a great help to scientists. 
 4. The virus escaped from the laboratory. 5. Nanobots can remove plaque from arteries. 
 TASK 1 Various parts of sentences 1 – 4 below are underlined. Write questions in which you ask about the underlined parts. Keep the structure of the original sentence (including tenses and all semantically important words), the only task is to transform it to a question. Example: He is going to write the final part of the thesis next month. Which part of the thesis is he going to write next month? 1. The passengers continued to complain about the train timetables. What did the passengers continue to complain about? What were the passengers still complaining about? About what did the passengers continue to complain? 2. Clowns draw our attention to serious matters. What is the clowns’ purpose? Who draws your attention to serious matters? Who draw your attention to serious matters? Who your attention draw to serious matters? 3. Einstein’s theory has been rejected by his colleagues. 
 4. A later version can be found in the library. TASK 1 Various parts of sentences 1 – 4 below are underlined. Write questions in which you ask about the underlined parts. Keep the structure of the original sentence (including tenses and all semantically important words), the only task is to transform it to a question. Example: He is going to write the final part of the thesis next month. Which part of the thesis is he going to write next month? 1. The students continued to complain about the teacher’s lessons. About what did the students continue to complain? What did the students continue to complain about? 2. The Health Minister emphasizes the importance of wearing masks. Who emphasizes the importance of wearing masks? Who does emphasise the importance of wearing masks? Who runs the show here? Jack runs the show here. Jack does not run the show here? Who does run the show here? 3. Einstein’s theory has been questioned in the article. Whose theory has been questioned in the article? Which theory has been questioned in the article? 
 4. Alternative data can be found in the new study. Where can we find alternative data? Where can alternative data be found? 
 Question formation. Four basic things to remember: 1. Starting with a question word is always easier: where, when, who, whom, which, why, what, how… 2. If there is an auxiliary verb (do, does, will, have…), place it directly after the question word. 3. Then comes the subject. 4. Place the main verb after the subject. 5. Anything else comes after that. Examples Simple Present Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB Where do you work? What does Jana think about the smell? Whom do you love the most? How do you like your new Ferrari? How many experiments does Vít run? Simple Past Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB How did they learn English so fast? When did you get home from lab yesterday? What did the supervisor think about your results? Where did you buy that biological weapon? Present Continuous Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB What are you doing on 18 May 2029? Why is he ignoring the bullet in his brain? What time are we meeting up for a beer? Who is she dating this week? Past Continuous Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB Who were you talking to on the phone? What was Jim doing when you called? Why were the animals changing their behaviour? How was he feeling after the surgery? Present Perfect Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB How much money have you spent on toothpicks this month? How long has your dog sung in the opera? What have they been doing all night? How long has the patient been waiting for treatment? Future Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB Who will you invite to the book launch? What will your parents think about the tattoo on your eyelids? When are you going to clean your teeth? Why is she going to shave her head bald? Modal Questions: QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT MAIN VERB What would you do if you lost a million crowns? How could we improve our English in ten seconds? Where should I go to escape reality? Exceptions: Yes/No questions do not use a question word… …but they still follow the pattern: Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb * Do you like pandemics? * Did you enjoy pain? * Are you studying English? * Were you sleeping when there was a party upstairs? * Have you finished your workout? * Will you call me when you get to the North Pole? * Are you going to accept the insult without a fight? * Should we take the back roads? Questions where the main verb is “be” also don’t follow the pattern: * Are you thirsty? * Is she a teacher? * Were your parents angry when you failed the test? * Was her ex-boyfriend a prince on a white horse? Adapted from https://www.espressoenglish.net/an-easy-way-to-form-almost-any-question-in-english/